Clothes-dampener.



P. M. HAW.

CLOTHES DAMPENBR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1,1907.

Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

WIIIJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I I male k2z% I My PH c0.. WASHING u 1; c

- ments Fig. 2,

PATRICK M. HAW, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GLOTHES-DAMPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

Application filed May 1, 1907. Serial No. 371,321.

To all whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK M. HAW, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Dampeners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of clothes dampeners having means for forming a spray, and clothes carrier or feeding mechanism adapted to carry articles into position to be dampened by the spray and re move them from such position when properly dampened. j

The principal object of the invention is to provide a simple, economical and eflicient clothes dampener.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a clothes dampener with means for forming a spray, and clothes carrying or feeding mechanism adapted to carry articles such as shirts, collars or other articles to be laundried, into position to be dampened by the spray and to remove them from the spray and dam pener when properly dampened; to provide means for regulating the quantity or supply of spray and the speed of operation of the carrier or, feeding mechanism with relation to each other and there by enable the clothes or articles to be dampened uniformly and to any desired extent without the constant attention and exercise of special care and judgment of an attendant in connection with the dampening of each article or the different parts of the articles operated upon; and to provide means for forming a spray of intermixed currents of steam and water respectively.

Other and further objects of the invention will appear from an examination of the drawings and the following description and claims.

The invention consists in. the features, combinations, and details of construction and operation hereinafter described and claimed.

I In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of a device constructed in accordance with my improvea sectional elevation taken on line 2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 3, a detail side view of one of the spraying nozzles, and Fig. 4, an end view of the nozzle shown in Fig. 3.

In constructing a clothes dampener and drier in accordance with my improvements I provide a dampener casing having side walls a formed preferably of sheet metal and provided with an opening 7) for receivmg clothes or articles to be dampened, and having an opening don the side opposite the inlet or receiving opening, through which the articles are carried or discharged after being dampened. The sheets of which the walls without openings are formed, are preferably bent so as to form integral flange portions or inner wall portions 0 by means of which the casing is adapted to be readily mounted or secured to the side wall of the drier chamber hereinafter more particularly described. The same sheets may also be bent to form. the opposite wall which is provided with an outlet opening 0 through which the clothes are carried out of the dampener casing. The bottom of the casing 1s preferably in the form of a hopper cl hav- -ing a discharge cock 6 by means of which water which would otherwise accumulate in the hopper may be drawn off. A reticulated wlre screen or openqvork bottom f covers the hopper bottom and is adapted to prevent articles operated upon from coming lnto contact with the hopper bottom or with water contained therein. Spraying nozzles g and h are mounted in position to discharge or project currents issuing therefrom into the dampener or casing preferably from opposite sides toward the center of the casing. The nozzles g are mounted upon water pipes 2', and the nozzles it upon steam pipes 7c, said pipes beingso arranged that there is a water pipe and a steam pipe on each side of the center of the casing with steam and water nozzles connected with such pipes respectively preferably on opposite sides of the carrier and of the inlet and outlet openings to the charm ber 20 formed by the casing a. These nozzles all have preferably flattened end por tions Z forming passages on which are correspondingly flattened and tapered toward the discharge ends thereof and which communicate with the passages formed by the steam and water pipes. These nozzles are arranged preferably in pairs, there being one water nozzle and one steam discharging nozzle in each pair having converging flattened discharge end portions which extend at an angle to each other preferably on the same horizontal plane, theconvergin'g ends being preferablynearly in contact and in position to cause the currents therefrom to converge and be projected toward the carrier and the center of the dampener so as to pened to the, desired extent thereby. The

spraying nozzles are provided with valves n by means of which the relative quantities of steam and water supplied, as well as the quantity ofspray may be regulated.

Suitable carrying or feeding mechanism for carrying the clothes into and out of the I dampener and supporting them while they are being dampened, is provided, in the form of an endless carrying or feeding chain or snmlar flexible element 0 having clothes supporting hooks or arms p. This u u to pass through the steam nozzles h forming 1 a spray, and that when a greater proportion carrying chain is mounted upon an endless track (1 upon which it is supported by means of chain-supporting arms r secured to the chain, andsupporting wheels or anti-friction rolls a which are rotatably mounted upon opposite sides of said arms and con nected with the upper ends thereof by means of. axles t which extend transversely of the chain. The wheels thus rest upon insupply.

ner flange portions'of the track on opposite sides of the chainsupporting arms. 5

and inclosed at top and bottom forming a drying chamber 18 is provided withan out- The track and carrying chain extend through thedampener casing near the top and from side to side thereof, the track being supported preferably from above, by means of supports which may be of any ordinary and well known form.

Suitable driving mechanism is provided foroperating' the carrying chain, which consists of a sprocket wheel u in toothed engagement with the chain, a shaft o upon which such sprocket wheel is mounted, a worm-wheel w mounted upon and in fixed relation totheshaft '0, a screw or worm z mounted in toothed engagement with the worm-wheel, a main driving shaft 2 rotatably mounted in suitable bearings 3 and upon which the worm or driving screw is mounted, and a main driving wheel or belt pulley 4 which is mounted upon the shaft 2 and adapted to be'operatively connected with a suitable source of power by means of a belt or similar element. Guiding Wheels 5 are mounted in engagement with the endless carrier chain'o at t-he different turns in the chain and track, for guiding the chain or endless carrier and supporting the different 'walaps thereof. Vertical shafts 6, upon which 7 the supporting wheels are mounted, are adapted to form a support for both the chain and track. I i

A water containing tank 7, preferably formed of sheet metal and steam tight, having a water outlet or supply pipe 8 with ,which the water pipes'i communicate, is

provided with a steam pipe or steam and water containing pipe 9 leading therefrom and communicating with the pipes k,-the

pipes 7c being connected by a pipe is and the pipes iby' a pipe 2', shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. -A condensing coil 10 is mounted in this tank and connected with the pipe 9 and with a steam supply pipe or inlet 11 which forms a passage communicating with a source of steam supply, said pipe 11 being connected with pipe 25 in the drying chamber and which supplies the steam for heating the drying chamber and therebydrying the clothes prior to dampening them, as herein elsewhere described. By employing the above elements constructed and arranged as shown or in more or less modified form it will be seen that a portion of the steam passing through the condensing coil or tank mav be'condensed and caused of water is required, or when such condensation is not convenient, sufiici'ent or practicalble the water from the tank 7 may be discharged. through the nozzles g and used in Zconnection with the steam. A water supply pipe 26- leads into the tank 7 and communicates with a suitable source of water A drier having side walls 14, 15, 16 and 17 let opening in the wall 14 which communicates with the dampening chamber 20, and a clothes receiving opening 19 through which the endless feeding or carrier chain 0 passes, The wall 1470f the drying chamber forms the principal support for the inner wall of the dampening chamber, and the carrier chain and track wind backand forth on the inside of the drying chamber in the form of a multiplicity of laps, the initial lap entering the drying chamber through the receiving opening 19 and the final lap extending transversely across or through and preferably on the inside of the dampening chamber and thence back into and through the drying chamber, said carrier chain be- ;ing endless as shown, The carrier, when in operation, carries the clothes back and forth on the inside of and through the 1 drying chamber until they have become sufficiently dry, and then carries them into and through the dampener supporting them therein until they become sufficiently dampened, after which it removes them from the dampener in a properly moistened condition, all by a single continuous and uninterrupted feeding or carrying operation. The steam supply pipe 25 forms a steam passage leading from asuitable source of steam supply, which may be in the form of a boiler of any desired type, into the dry ing chamber, said steam supply pipe being connected with or forming a drying and heating coil 22 in the drying chamber, and also with the spraying nozzle and pipe mechanism in the dampening chamber. A return pipe 21 connects the heating coil with the boiler, so that a continuous steam circuit is provided for heating the drying chamber and forming and discharging or projecting the spray for dampening the clothes after they have been properly dried. Mechanism for discharging or removing the articles from the endless carrier may be of any ordinary and well known type suitable for the purpose, and is here shown in the form of a pair of arms 24 which extend from points on opposite sides of the carrier chain and its clothes carrying arms downward and inward at an incline beneath and centrally of the chain and in av direct-ion opposite to its movement when in operation, so that the chain and its clothes carrying arms pass above the lower converging ends of the arms 24, and between the upper spread portions thereof. The discharging arms are inclined and spread at such angles that as the clothes are carried out of the dampener by the endless carrier they are engaged by said arms and gradually forced out-ward laterally from the carrying chain until they are caused to drop from the outer ends of the clothes carrying arms. The dampening chamber and nozzle mechanism are between the discharging arms and the drying chamber.

By the above arrangement the clothes are carried by the same continuous or endless carrier first through the drier until properly dried and then through the dampener until properly dampened, by a single and uninterrupted feeding operation and in such a manner that the drying and dampening, as well as the feeding to both drier and dampener, may be carried on simultaneously and continuously or without interruption of either the one or the other. The handling of the clothes in the process of dampening them is thus dispensed with. The amount of spray supplied can be readily regulated with relation to the speed of movement of the carrier so that when the parts are once properly set in operation the dampening will be uniform and the extent to which or duration of time during which the clothes are subjected to the action of the spray will be governed by the relation between the speed of movement of the carrier and the supply of the dampening spray. The discharging from the dampener and from the carrier, as well as the feeding into and through the dampener and drier will be automatic and uniform thus enabling the constant attention and exercise of judgment on the part of an attendant as to the extent of dampening, to be dispensed with. A degree of uniformity in the dampness of the articles is thus obtained which is practically impossible when the feeding into and removal from the dampener is performedmanually, and the cost of the services of an attendant for performing the operation of dampening the clothes is dispensed with.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of spraying nozzle mechanism, a steam supply pipe communicating with a source of steam supply and with the nozzle mechanism, and a water containing tank having an outlet passage communicating with the nozzle mechanism and provided with an inlet opening, said tank forming a chamber into which said steam supply pipe extends.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a steam discharging nozzle, a water discharging nozzle, a water conlaining casing provided with a water passage communicating with the water discharging nozzle, a. steam supply pipe extending into the interior of the water containing casing and communicating with a source of steam supply and with said steam discharging nozzle, and carrier mechanism for carrying articles to be dampened toward and from the nozzles.

PATRICK M. HAW.

Witnesses HARRY I. CRoMnR, JOHN W. CREEKMUR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Paten s. Washington. D. 0. 

